Very Pay - worth it to save £100? 23 January at 10:01PM in Credit file & ratings 10 replies 223 views

ChilliBob

Not sure if this is the right place or not but I'll ask and see..!

Basically it seems if you take out a "Very Pay" credit account you get 20% off. 

I'm looking for a new laptop, using this 20% off would save me £100 or so vs the cheapest alternative place, Argos or Amazon.

I havec zero need for the credit, and I don't want it, however, I'm tempted, due to the saving!

Concerned it'll just turn into some kind of nightmare though with Very making it hard to pay somehow, sending me junk in the post, and then my credit rating getting a shafting. 

So, are my concerns right, or am I being overly cautious?! 

LeRedoute

I'd take the hit for £100.

I'll happily trade fictitious CRA points for £100.

Take the credit, repay it immediately and save £100. Winner.

MorningcoffeeIV

ChilliBob said:

Concerned it'll just turn into some kind of nightmare though with Very making it hard to pay somehow, sending me junk in the post, and then my credit rating getting a shafting. 

You'd have to make a series of very bad decisions for that to happen.

If you're not good with credit, or unfamiliar with opting out of marketing, you may be better off giving it a miss.

ChilliBob

Thanks for the replies guys, was all ready to pull the trigger the the reviews (x3) suggest Very actually sends the wrong version of the laptop! So, I think for the grief, and high liklihood of getting the wrong one I may skip. A small part of me is tempted but I think it'd be silly! 

Ebe_Scrooge

Assuming the credit won't cost you anything then there's no issue.  The cynical side of me says that there's no such thing as free credit, someone is paying for it somewhere along the line.  But if you're sure that this is the cheapest deal you can get, then go for it.  I guess they may be using it to attract new customers, in the hope that they'll spend more in future - not exactly a "loss leader" but a similar kind of idea.

jefaz07

I opened one for this reason. Paid it off and don’t use it really. I was, however, able to get a PS5 on interest free when they were hard to come by. I think their prices are competitive and every now and then get a 15-20% off code. 

ChilliBob

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Assuming the credit won't cost you anything then there's no issue.  The cynical side of me says that there's no such thing as free credit, someone is paying for it somewhere along the line.  But if you're sure that this is the cheapest deal you can get, then go for it.  I guess they may be using it to attract new customers, in the hope that they'll spend more in future - not exactly a "loss leader" but a similar kind of idea.

Yeah, I guess the plan is to attract loads of people in the hope even a small percentage actually need to use the credit, or forget, juicy Apr for them 

sourcrates

ChilliBob said:

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Assuming the credit won't cost you anything then there's no issue.  The cynical side of me says that there's no such thing as free credit, someone is paying for it somewhere along the line.  But if you're sure that this is the cheapest deal you can get, then go for it.  I guess they may be using it to attract new customers, in the hope that they'll spend more in future - not exactly a "loss leader" but a similar kind of idea.

Yeah, I guess the plan is to attract loads of people in the hope even a small percentage actually need to use the credit, or forget, juicy Apr for them 

Very/Littlewoods whatever the trading name, most are a part of the recently re-named "The Very group".

They draw you in with such offers, then before long they start offering you "buy now, pay next year" usually interest free, if you pay by a certain date. 

Unfortunatly you cannot predict what will happen a year hence, and lots of customers get stung for large amounts of interest when they find they cannot pay the debt by the due date.

As a one off thing, its not a bad deal, but you have to be careful as these things have a tendency to escalate.

MalMonroe

ChilliBob said:

Not sure if this is the right place or not but I'll ask and see..!

Basically it seems if you take out a "Very Pay" credit account you get 20% off. 

I'm looking for a new laptop, using this 20% off would save me £100 or so vs the cheapest alternative place, Argos or Amazon.

I havec zero need for the credit, and I don't want it, however, I'm tempted, due to the saving!

Concerned it'll just turn into some kind of nightmare though with Very making it hard to pay somehow, sending me junk in the post, and then my credit rating getting a shafting. 

So, are my concerns right, or am I being overly cautious?! 

Well, I fell for this kind of thing when I was very financially unaware many years ago. It led me down the road to having to have a DRO and my credit report was a thing of the opposite of beauty for six whole years.

I would advise against it, and I'm glad to see that you have decided not to fall for the 'offer'.

You say that you don't want credit and you don't need it. But if you take out an account like this, it goes straight on to your credit reports. I hate that! Years ago I bought something from a company and they opened an account for me and then it was on my credit reports. I wrote to ask them to remove it but it remained there for six years. Even though I had paid in full at the outset, didn't knowingly open an account and never bought anything from them before or since. (Nobody else ever sees your credit rating but they do see your credit reports.)

I got £100 off a brand new desk top computer from John Lewis last year, simply because I was in their 'club' and owned a John Lewis My Card. Not even a credit card, just a loyalty card. And delivery was free because it was a 'big' item. And the guarantee was 2 years because - John Lewis.

It's worth shopping around to see if you can find a better deal. With places like Very, there's always some kind of catch. Like delivery costs are probably very high no matter what the cost of the item you purchase. Or some other hidden cost. Maybe it's just me but I don't trust outfits like that.

Sometimes bargains and deals are not all they purport to be. 

ChilliBob

Sorry to hear that Mal, unfortunately, that's what they prey on - people who take the credit because they cannot afford not to, or don't realise what they are signing up for

John Lewis, yep, I'm in the club, I have a 10% voucher off anything to use in a couple of days, woop! Sadly they don't have this laptop. But yeah, 90% of my shopping is probably done there - waitrose round the corner to collect and return, simples!

It did feel a bit like dealing with the devil, but for a good saving I'd have given it a go, but not for the wrong item! 

superbigal

Clearly Very are looking for mugs who fall foul of clearing accounts in time etc.
 If you run your account properly it can be a very cheap place.   I just got 30% Code of a whole load of stuff that was already reduced below other retailer prices.  Regularly get 20% of everything codes.  That is when Big ticket items can become a real saver if you do the price checking properly.
Very easy to cancel orders online (If not despatched), which I have done before and immediately reordered with a better code.
Also no delivery costs when delivered to a local collect.